A new mosque in Mymensingh has welcomed members of the hijra community, promising them worship without discrimination.
The humble structure – a single-room shed with walls and a roof clad in tin – is a new community hub for the group, who have enjoyed greater legal and political recognition in recent years but still suffer from entrenched prejudice.
“From now on, no one can deny a hijra from praying in our mosque,” community leader Joyita Tonu said in a speech to a packed congregation.
“No one can mock us,” added the visibly emotional 28-year-old, a white scarf covering her hair.
The mosque near Mymensingh, on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, was built on land donated by the government after the city’s hijra community were expelled from an established congregation.
“I never dreamt I could pray at a mosque again in my lifetime,” said Sonia, 42, who as a child loved to recite the Quran and studied at a madrasa.
But when she came out as a hijra, she was blocked from praying in a mosque.
“People would tell us: Why are you hijra people here at the mosque? You should pray at home. Do not come to mosques,’” Sonia, who uses only one name, said.
“It was shameful for us, so we did not go,” she added. “Now, this is our mosque. Now, no one can say no.”
‘Like any other people’
Hijras have been the beneficiaries of growing legal recognition in Bangladesh, which since 2013 has officially allowed members of the community to identify as a third gender.
Several have entered politics, with one transgender woman elected the chairman of a union parishad in 2021.
But hijras still struggle for basic recognition and acceptance, lacking property and marriage rights.
They are also often discriminated against in employment and are much more likely to be victims of violent crime and poverty than the average Bangladeshi.
Mufti Abdur Rahman Azad, founder of a hijra charity, told AFP that the new mosque is the first of its kind in the country.
A similar endeavour planned in another city was stopped last month after a protest by locals, he added.
Dozens of local hijra women donated time and money to build the Dakshin Char Kalibari Masjid for the Third Gender, which opened this month.
It also has a graveyard, after a local Muslim cemetery last year refused to bury a young hijra community member inside its grounds.
The mosque’s imam, Abdul Motaleb, 65, said the persecution of the hijra community is against the teachings of his faith.
“They are like any other people created by Allah”, the cleric told AFP.
‘No one can be denied’
“We all are human beings. Maybe some are men, some are women, but all are human. Allah revealed the Holy Quader for all, so everyone has the right to pray, no one can be denied.”
Motaleb said other people could learn from the faith and strength of hijras.
“Since I have been here at this mosque, I have been impressed by their character and deeds,” he said.
The new mosque is already tackling prejudice. Local resident Tofazzal Hossain, 53, has offered Friday prayers there for two weeks in a row.
He said living and praying with the hijra community has changed his “misconceptions” about them.
“When they started to live with us, many people said many things,” he told AFP.
“But we have realized what people say is not right. They live righteously like other Muslims.”
Tonu hopes to expand the simple mosque to be big enough to cater for more people.
“God willing, we will do it very soon,” she said.
“Hundreds of people can offer prayers together.”